questions about my 6 gal

[Euplectella]

Hi, I am new to this forum and a beginner in SW aquarium care.

 

I have an eclipse system 6 which has been sw for 5 months now. Currently I have a few blue legged hermits, a couple Astraea snails, and two Hawaiian feather dusters. I also have some macro and grapevine caulerpa. The substrate is sand that was dry when I added it, but is live now. I also have an artificial cave which is about 1/3 size of the tank.

 

I originally had been planning on a CB dwarf seahorse tank for about a year. I've had the tank for over a year, but has been running SW for about 5 months. The problem is I live in Canada and it’s very difficult to get Dwarfs here. I have not given up, but it doesn't seem like I will get any until prob. next summer.

 

So, I don't have any LR b/c it's not recommended for dwarf tanks, but since I may not have the dwarfs I may ditch the artificial cave and get some LR.

 

The tank's parameters are at 78*F, 1.026 specific gravity, nitrates never get over 12 ppm, and pH is at 8.

 

My question is would I be able to keep a fish in there? I am not planning on any corral/frags, shrooms, sponges... basically just a Fish only tank.

 

I have seen other tanks at 5.5 or 7 gal in the gallery with clowns. Are there other kinds of fish I can keep besides clowns? I do not want to overstock, and if fish are not doable I will have to wait until another time, but I was hoping I could.

 

I understand LR is important to properly cycle a SW tank and increase the surface area for that cycling, so would LR be a must in this case? I do have the live sand. I am also doing 15% water changes weekly, and have had many pods, which I was told prove that the tank is cycled and doing well.

 

Thanks.

[holyherbiness]

Hey Euplectella

 

"am also doing 15% water changes weekly, and have had many pods, which I was told prove that the tank is cycled and doing well. "

 

Yes your tank is cycled with the inhabitants currently in it (waste products of pods=bacteria population)

 

when your fish, you will notice another cycle, sometimes mild, and sometimes quite harsh

[Euplectella]

Thanks, so are you saying it is okay to add a fish to the tank the way it is now? what type of fish? clown, firefish?

[Euplectella]

Would a false clown do well in my tank of that size?

[Euplectella]

Anyone?

[Cellenzweig]

A false percula should do ok. If you are still interested in Dwarf SH's you could try Aaron at Seanic Aquarium in Guelph. When it comes to seahorses in Canada, Aaron is THE person to talk to. www.seanic.ca

 

I have also seen dwarf seahorses in Big Als occasionally over the last few months. (Scarborough, Whitby and Mississagua)

[Euplectella]

Thanks Cellenzweig,

 

Yes, I've already spoken with Aaron, but no luck with the dwarfs. Are you sure about the dwarfs at Big Al's? If thats true I'd like to get a hold of them.. you saw them at the miss, scarb, and whitby ones? I called around in North York, Newmarket... but they were defenite No's.

 

When was the last time you saw them? How Much? Do you know if they were captive bred or wild? Thanks, i'll be sure to check those stores out.

[Cellenzweig]

When was the last time you saw them? How Much? Do you know if they were captive bred or wild? Thanks, i'll be sure to check those stores out.

The last time I saw them was at the Scarborough location. They probably had 15-20 of them. I'm not too interested in dwarves, so I didn't ask if they were CB or WC. I'm not sure exactly when I saw them, but it was at some point this summer. It may have been right before hippocampus became Cites listed- if so, then they may have stopped selling them since.

[Euplectella]

CITES... i was afraid of that. Thanks though, I'll still check them out.